Let The Games Begin!
by ShanaAlvarado29
Summary: Yami Sennen is trying desperately to keep his already broken family together while helping his overworked, underpaid, stressed-out father. One night after work, Yami is sucked into a virual reality world where he must win the game to be set free.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. Let The Games Begin is loosely based off of Sci-fi author Orsen Scott Card's Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game. Rating may go higher as the story progresses. I do own the plot. **

**A/N: This story is not primarily a slash fic, per se, however there is a bit of undercurrent between Yami and Kaiba, however, there will not be any actual mention of YAOI. If anything, I'll be portraying their differences of opinion/rivalry from the anime. **

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Yami Sennen was roused from sleep by the sound of his parents arguing with each other. Yami's closed bedroom door and the walls separating the living room from his bedroom muffled their voices, but the volume alone was enough to wake him from an already restless slumber.

This was nothing new. Over the last two years, more often than not, his parents' seemingly endless bickering had become Yami's alarm clock.

It all started out innocently, with his father trying to curb his wife's frequent spending on clothes, jewelry, shoes, and such because they needed the extra money to support their three young sons, to keep a roof over their heads, and food in their stomachs. This changed to their mother accusing her husband of not understanding her needs, that he no longer supported them as he supposedly had at the beginning of their marriage, followed by their father's insistent denial and attempted to reason with his wife.

About four months ago, the little arguments escalated into full-blown disputes after their father found his wife in bed with another man, while their youngest son, Yugi, was fast asleep in the room directly across from the unfaithful couple.

The police had been called on them five times, a C.P.S. social worker had threatened to take the three boys away, and quite a few court orders to seek therapy.

Yami knew that it was just a matter of time before the D-bomb was dropped. However, he could help but wonder what exactly was taking so long.

Sure, trying to work out your marriage problems was one thing, but when the wife repeatedly found her way into strange men's beds and flaunted her lovers in front of her husband was by far another. The fact that his mother clearly didn't want to fix their marriage and that they couldn't go five seconds two seconds without going for each other's throats was testament and grounds for divorce.

Yami rolled onto his side, his back to the door, and tried to block out his parents' shouting so that he could go back to sleep. A moment later, Yami heard his bedroom door open. For a moment he could hear his mother's degrading accusations to his father loud and clear before the door the door closed again to block out the words but not the sound.

Rolling back onto his other side, Yami found his little brother standing against the wall. He was wringing his hands together, worrying his lower lip, and his amethyst eyes were swimming from unshed tears.

Without saying a word, Yami lifted one arm, pulling the blanket up off the bed in the process, in invitation. The boy launched himself into the newly formed burrow and pressed up against Yami's chest. Yami rearranged the blankets around them before pulling Yugi closer. The boy clenched his small fists in Yami's nightshirt, burying his face into the crook of Yami's neck, and quietly cried himself to sleep.

Yami heard one final shout from his father, an unsettling silence, and finally the sound of the front door opening and being slammed shut half a second later.

Yami shook his head in despair at the horrible condition his family had dwindled down to. He could only hope that for all of their sakes that the D-bomb does fall real soon.

Yami noticed that it was only four in the morning. Still a bit unsettled, Yami blanked his mind and finally fell back to sleep.

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><p>Come morning, Yami woke to the blaring of his alarm clock at 6:15. He slipped out of bed to shower and dress before going to wake Yugi and Marik for school. Both brothers put up a fight, but finally they too got out of bed to get ready.<p>

Yami walked into the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal when something on the kitchen counter caught his attention. He reached out and pulled the first sheet of paper closer to read.

He had just read the first line at the top of the page, and only one thought went through his mind.

"_Petition for Marriage Dissolution."_

_Finally…_

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><p><strong>AN: This story came to me while trying to outline a separate story I've been planning on writing, but since I thought it looked really interesting, I decided to write it anyway, just because I can. ^_^ I apologize for the briefness of this chapter. I really am not happy with any of my chapters being lower than 1,000 words, but I hope you enjoy anyway. **_  
><em>


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. This story is loosely based off of Sci-Fi author Orsen Scott Card's Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game. I own whatever else is left of the plot. **

**A/N: See if you can find the Yu-Gi-Oh abridged reference. **

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Yami guided his compact Honda Civic into an empty parking space and slid the car into park before shutting off the engine. It was only 3:47, and Yami had another thirteen minutes before Yugi would be let out of soccer practice. Sighing, Yami took out his book from his backpack, switched on his iPod, and settled back in his seat to wait.

He must've nodded off for a bit, because suddenly he was jolted awake by a gentle rapping on the passenger side window. Leaning over, Yami unlocked the door to let Yugi slide into the car. Yami closed his book and put it in the backseat before starting the ignition and backing out of the space.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked when he switched the car from reverse into drive and headed toward the front gate.

"It was awesome!" The little bundle of energy replied excitedly. "I know we're going to beat those Dolphins next week."

Yami chuckled, "Now, whatever happened to "it's all about the fun of playing the game", hmm?"

"That's still true, but it's never a bad thing to be confident." Yugi offered.

"Confident, sure, but try not to slip over into arrogance, little one." Yami wisely advised.

"Please! You were worse than me when you were on the basketball team." The boy countered.

"As the saying goes, "Do as I say, not as I do"."

"As the saying goes, "Monkey see, monkey do"."

"You're comparing yourself to a primate now?"

"Eh, better than being likened to a baby panda."

Yami laughed outright at that, "Yes, a pygmy marmoset is much more appropriate."

"Hey!" Yugi cried out indignantly, before he too began laughing.

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><p>When Yami pulled into their father's driveway, he had to suppress a groan of displeasure when he spotted Marik's Harley in to garage.<p>

He didn't have time for petty arguments today, or else he'll be late for work.

Yami grabbed his book and backpack out of the backseat before following Yugi inside.

The oldest Sennen brother was lounging across the black felt couch in the living room, flipping through the channels on the television looking for something interesting that might be on. Yami quickly went to his bedroom to shower and change into his work uniform. He had thought he might actually get back out of the house without incident. Marik had a nasty habit about complaining about most anything, and primarily he directed those concerns toward Yami.

He was in the middle of pulling his unruly tri-colored spikes into a ponytail and slid the bound hair through the back of his work cap when Marik appeared in the open bathroom doorway.

"Dad was pissed that the garbage hadn't been taken out, Yams. And we're out of orange juice."

Yami rolled his eyes at Marik's immaturity, "Marik, you were home all day, you could've easily taken out the trash on your own, so why are you telling me about it?" Yami let his arms drop to his sides and turned to fully face his older brother, "As for the orange juice, again you could've done that on your own as well."

"It was your turn to take it out, Yami. And since you're already going into town tonight, you could get some orange juice on your way home." Marik snapped.

"When the hell did we ever start alternating trash duty?" Yami demanded as he pushed past Marik and started up the hall toward Yugi's room to check on him.

"Since now." Marik stated petulantly and crossed his arms across his chest as he followed Yami around like a duckling.

"Look, Marik. I've got too much to do to worry about things that you could've done anytime today, so don't complain to me about you getting yourself into trouble because you couldn't get your ass off of the couch long enough to do such a simple chore."

Yugi was sitting at his desk starting on his homework and he was nibbling on some Banquet chicken strips.

Satisfied that Yugi was taken care of for the moment, Yami turned and almost collided into Marik, "Damn it, Marik, move. I've got to go."

"Not until you do your job here first."

Yami growled low and slanted a censuring glare, and then shoved his older brother out of his way before making his way back up the hall, "Do it yourself!" He called out without turning his head and walked out of the house, closing the door on Marik's indignant rebuttal.

* * *

><p>Yami smiled and waved at the little girl who rested drowsily against her mother's shoulder while the father pushed their cart full of groceries away from the checkout line that he had been assigned to for the night. Looking down at his watch to see that it was a quarter past ten, he vaguely wondered why those parents had taken their young child out so late at night, but he shook the thought away. It was none of his business, anyway.<p>

He turned and greeted the next customer to come up in the line and started to rapidly ringing up the older man's items.

Yami was mentally counting down the minutes until he could go home. He still had quite a bit of homework to finish and he had to put in some extra study time for that Civics exam tomorrow afternoon. He wondered if Yugi had finished his homework, hoped that he had gotten something to eat for supper. He worried about the electric and water bills that were both due on Friday and he prayed that his manager had only been joking when she told them all that this week's paycheck wouldn't be released until Sunday afternoon.

"Sennen." He looked out from the corner of his eye to find his supervisor, Mai Kujaku, walking toward his station.

"Yes, ma'am?" He replied as he placed the last can of whole beets into a plastic grocery bag and set it in the older man's cart.

"Take your bank to the accounting room and do your tallies for today. You can head on home after you're finished." Miss Kujaku informed, to Yami's relief.

"Yes, ma'am." He said as he flipped off the light over the checkout stand to symbolize that it wasn't in service, ejected his money drawer, and put the money into a dark blue, plastic bag marked #45.

He quickly headed toward the back of the store toward the employee closet, went into the accountant room, and finished up his cashiering duties for the day. Once he was finished and jotted down the total profits made, he put the slip of paper and the money back into the bag and left it in Miss Kujaku's office before he made his way back up to the front of the store to go home.

* * *

><p>Yami stumbled in through the front door a quarter past eleven, feeling exhausted and yet he made sure that he didn't forget to do his homework. He went first to check in on Yugi, who had fallen asleep leaning over his desk. Yami smiled fondly and entered, gently shaking his little brother's shoulder.<p>

"Yugi, come on, you'll catch a cold if you sleep here like this." The younger teenager mumbled incoherently and allowed Yami to coax him into Yugi's bed. He tucked the covers around Yugi's lithe form, switched off the lamp light on Yugi's desk before leaving the room, the door slightly ajar. Yugi was already fast asleep before Yami had even left.

Yami went into the kitchen next to grab a glass of milk. The coolness of the beverage would help Yami to stay awake for a little while longer without having to get caffeine involved.

He walked into his bedroom and lightly shut the door behind him, flipped on the lights, and dragged his backpack over to the desk in the corner. He pulled out his Algebra 2, Economics, and English Literature books, a notebook, and a mechanical pencil, sat down, and started on his English Literature work first.

* * *

><p>Half past one, Yami couldn't continue. He had put in an hour of study for his Civics exam, and had finished his English literature and Economics assignments, but he still had his mathematics, and he knew he hadn't the energy to keep going. He put away his things, mentally consoling himself in thinking that he could simply finish his Algebra in homeroom. He pulled his hair out of his hat and ponytail, unbuttoned his work shirt and shrugged out of it before tossing it into the half-full laundry hamper.<p>

_I'd have to do that tomorrow. _He noted before switching off his light and falling into bed, fast asleep at the moment his head struck the pillows.

* * *

><p>Yami groaned as he heard the obnoxious blaring of his alarm clock. He stretched his hand out and slapped the snooze button, and struggled to collect himself out of his drowsy daze.<p>

Trudging into his bathroom, Yami took a cool shower that instantly had him awake and alert. He got out when he heard his alarm going off again ten minutes after the initial alert, dried off, and dressed into a light blue button-up dress shirt, a dark blue necktie, and dark brown, almost black, dress slacks. Although his high school wasn't a unified school, per se, however the faculty did enforce a semi-formal dress code to reduce the amount of skin.

He woke Yugi up at 6:15, started making breakfast.

Marik still hadn't taken out the garbage, but he did have the grace to have gone and bought some orange juice sometime while Yami was at work. Not wanting to get his father worked up over the chore again for the second day, he took the trash out onto the curb, since it was Wednesday, and therefore garbage day.

Once he got back inside the house, Yugi was dressed and sitting at the dining room table, picking at the plates of scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits while sipping a glass of orange juice.

At 6:50, Yami made a quick check to make sure that he and Yugi had everything they needed for the school day, and were in Yami's civic at 7:00 sharp heading toward Yugi's junior high school. Yami dropped his little brother off and continued on toward his own high school.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. This story is loosely based off of Orsen Scott Card's sci-fi novel Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game. I do own the plot and a few OC characters. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Three – Bullies<strong>

Yami raked one hand through his golden-blond bangs as he struggled through the previous night's Algebra homework assignment. Math had never been Yami's strong point, and it seriously didn't help him concentrate when the majority of his classmates in his homeroom class were conversing at a volume that was louder than necessary.

He braced the left side of his face upon his thumb, index, and middle fingers, his ring finger and pinky hooked around to lay across his left eyebrow in a physical indication of his growing agitation and a feeble attempt to ward off the slowly developing headache that was forming behind his eyes.

A sudden cold spot hit Yami on the back of his neck. Grimacing, he reached back with his right hand, praying it was simply a wadded up piece of wet paper and not a booger or something equally as disgusting. He shook the offensive object into the wastebasket near his desk and continued working on his Algebra.

Distantly he heard the immature snickering of Brian Cossack and his band of potential delinquents; Matthew Ford, Samuel Tucker, and Jordan Grant, followed by the initial name-calling of "nerd", "Brokeback", "queer", and a few racial slurs against his apparent Native American blood.

When they realized Yami was ignoring their verbal assaults, they decided to take it up a notch. Samuel went to the teacher, Mr. Wicker, and swore that he was going to be sick. After a few strategic sways, he convinced Mr. Wicker to help him to the infirmary. Once the teacher was gone, Brian, Matthew, and Jordan approached Yami's desk.

They were silent for a moment, watching as Yami worked through the third to last Algebraic problem on the paper. They waited until Yami started on the very last problem before Brian swiped the notebook right out of Yami's hands, "Aw, how cute is this?" He mocked.

Yami snapped his head up to level a heated glare on the three taller, thicker boys. "Give that back, Brian." He demanded as he got to his feet. He held out his hand for emphasis, but refused to reach for it to prevent further embarrassment when Brian would hold the notebook out of his reach.

"The bookworm wants his homework back." Matthew gloated.

Yami ground his teeth, not wanting to deal with this right now, "I'm warning you, I'm not in the mood."

"Well, good, because I wasn't offering, Brokeback." Cossack said snidely.

"I wouldn't accept even if you had. I'll only say this once more; give me the notebook, Cossack." Yami said in a calm voice, even though his crimson eyes and the underlying tone was just as threatening as if he had shouted the order.

The three taller boys started laughing, tossing their heads back in merriment, so none of them had seen Yami move.

One moment, Brian was up on his feet, laughing as if he had just been told the most hilarious joke, and in the next, Yami slammed the heel of his hand into the underside of the taller boy's chin. Brian's jaw slammed shut, his teeth piercing deeply into his bottom lip as he went stumbling back a few steps. Yami hooked his foot around Brian's ankle and pulled it out from under the taller boy to force him to the floor. He hit his head roughly against the hard tile floor and lay there dazed for a few moments.

Yami sent a challenging glance at Jordan and Matthew after that, but both were wise enough to back off.

_Didn't expect the little guy to pack any punch, eh?_

Yami plucked his notebook off of the ground where Brian had dropped it, and quickly finished the last problem before tucking the notebook and his textbook into his backpack. The passing period bell began to chime, and Yami shrugged one of the straps over one shoulder and stepped over Brian's still prone body as he walked out of the classroom.

* * *

><p>At 3:15, Yami got out of school early in order to pick Yugi up from soccer practice on time. On his way to his car, a large hand gripped his right biceps and tugged his around. Yami just barely caught a glimpse of Brian towering over him, his face drawn together like thunderclouds, before the taller boy buried his fist deep into Yami's ribs.<p>

Yami's breath burst from his lungs and he instinctively bent into the pain, but Brian grabbed Yami by the collar of his shirt and pulled him upright, half choking the smaller teen in the process.

"Do you have any fucking idea how humiliating it is to get beaten by a fucking homo?" Brian demanded as he tightened his grip around Yami's throat.

"I've already told you, I'm not-"

Brian slammed his fist into Yami's face.

Light burst behind Yami's eyelids and he tasted blood in his mouth as his nose broke and his lip burst open.

"Shut up!" Brian shouted

Brian hit Yami in the gut with his knee, and the blow brought the smaller teen to his knees.

"I'm going to fucking kill you."

Yami heard the click of a gun being cocked and he struck faster than a snake, his fist connecting directly into Brian's groin. The taller teen let go of the 22-caliber pistol and it clattered to the ground as he cupped himself, crumbling to his knees.

Yami snatched up the fallen pistol and slammed the butt of the gun into Brian's temple and immediately knocked the older boy unconscious.

Yami gathered his legs underneath his body and pushed himself to his feet, panting as he worried about internal bleeding. He checked his watch and knew he'd be late to pick up Yugi, so Yami pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the house landline.

It rang five times before his father answered, "Hello?"

"Hey dad. I have to run a few errands in town and I won't be able to get to Yugi's school in time to pick him up. Would you or Marik be able to?" Yami asked, trying to control his breathing, but it sounded gargled even to his own ears by the blood from his broken nose.

"Yeah, that's no problem." His father replied sounding a little surprised. He paused and then asked, "Are you all right, Yami?"

"Mm-hmm." Yami hummed, "I'm fine. I just have to pick up my paycheck and cash it, swing by the Unisource and Valley Pioneers to make this month's payments, and go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. We're out of laundry detergent, milk, and I need to get some more notebooks for school." He spouted off his list of things he really did have to do, but not before he made a trip to the infirmary to get Missus Rochelle's opinion on his injuries and if he had to go to the hospital.

Akunumkanon hummed suspiciously, seemingly still a little worried, but he finally let the subject drop and after Yami thanked his father and they exchanged good-byes, Yami ended the call and headed back in to the school to have the nurse look him over.

* * *

><p>"Yami, sweetie, you've got to learn to stay out of trouble." Mrs. Rochelle gently chided.<p>

"It's not my fault." He grumbled.

Rochelle nodded, knowing that Yami suffers almost daily from bullying, "Still, you could do to exercise a little caution." She replied as she placed some medical tape that would hold the bones in his nose in place so that they could heal. "You're going to have quite a bit of bruising, and you'll need to keep your nose bound tight, but other than that, once the bleeding's stopped, you can go. I don't think you'll need to go to the hospital." Mrs. Rochelle explained.

"Thank you, ma'am." Yami said as he held the tissue pinched around his nostrils. "I'd appreciate it if you don't tell my dad about this." He requested.

"Yes, I know the drill." The nurse replied.

In her opinion, she didn't like how Yami kept his bully troubles from his father, even though she could appreciate the need to leave off the added stress that would come with the knowledge. Yami was such a mature boy who was often misunderstood, and differences among youths was often cause for conflict.

After Yami's nose stopped bleeding, he threw the tissue into the trash receptacle that was used specifically for bloodied bandages, tissues, and such. He shrugged into his backpack and started for the door, "Thank you again, Mrs. Rochelle."

"You're welcome, Mr. Sennen. But please, be more careful next time."

He nodded in acknowledgment and closed the infirmary door behind him.

* * *

><p>He did run to the grocery store to get the laundry detergent, milk, and notebooks, but the bills could wait until later. He was more occupied about explaining the already forming bruises on his face and around his throat.<p>

He pulled in to the driveway at 5:42 in the afternoon, and he saw that both Marik's Harley and his father's Jetta Volkswagon in the garage. He left the car out on the gravel drive, slid the car into park, and turned of the headlights and engine. Yugi came out to meet Yami with a great smile on his face but stopped short when he saw Yami's face.

"Yami, what happened?" He demanded to know.

"I wasn't watching where I was walking, and I walked into a tree branch." Wasn't the most intelligent response, but Yami could get easily distracted at times.

Yugi frowned, "And your neck?"

My collar hooked to a twig on the branch I ran into and it tightened around my throat for a second." He smiled reassuringly at Yugi, "I'll be fine."

Akunumkanon stood in the doorway as he watched his middle son grabbed the two plastic bags of groceries out of the back seat of his car and carried them toward the house. His eyes widened at the teen's bruised face, bandaged nose, and swollen lower lip, and Yami gave him the same response he gave to Yugi when his father demanded to know what had happened.

Honestly, Akunumkanon looked like he really wasn't buying Yami's shpeel, but it was clear that Yami didn't want to elaborate on the subject. Against his better judgment, the older man let it go.

He'd figure out what happened soon, he was sure. But if he knew the boy at all, Yami's pride was bruised worse than his face, and he needed time to recover before he could admit the truth.

After ignoring a few snide remarks from Marik, who claimed Yami looked as if he had fallen face-first into a puddle of mud, Yami did two loads of laundry, ate his supper, and started on his homework at 8:53 in the evening.

He finally went to bed at 12:36 in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Brokeback was s slur referring to the movie Brokeback Mountain about the two homosexual cowboys. I heard this term during junior high and high school that was a reference questioning a boy's sexuality.

I didn't want to offend anyone who might read this and see any racial slurs, so I left it open so that it was implied, but that it wouldn't be offensive...at least I hope. I'm partial Native American, so don't be offended. ^_^ Please?


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. This story is loosely based off of Orsen Scott Card's Sci-Fi novel Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game. I own the plot.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three -Missing<strong>

Yami heard the uneasy whispers going on among the student body and even some of the teachers. They all seemed to revolve around an incident that occurred five years earlier, before Yami had begun attending Ju-Dondai High school. Usually, Yami would ignore that sort of gossip, but strangely, Yami found himself very interested about the subject.

From what he gathered through the jumbled rambling, Yami deducted that the whispers were about the peculiar disappearances of young teenagers. Apparently it had all started with a senior boy. Yami hadn't figured a name of the original victim.

Apparently the guy had been in the boys' locker room dressing out for PE. One of the boy's friends saw that the guy was taking longer than usual getting ready, and so he went to look for him but he had only found his friend's backpack, gym bag, and rumpled school uniform, but no sign of the boy. After a thorough search of the campus, the boy had been labeled missing.

For three weeks, police and other authorities had searched for the boy, but there wasn't any sign of him to be found. To this day, he has yet to be found, dead or alive.

Yami also found out that the first teen had only been the tip of the iceberg. In the weeks following the boy's apparent vanishing, four other students had disappeared from their school, as had seven other teenagers in the local area. Some had been found, but they were so deep in unconsciousness that they were comatose.

Yami heard from a group of teachers that doctors couldn't understand what had caused the teens to slip into their comas. Moreover, the doctors were baffled at the amount of brain activity of each teen. It was the equivalent to a very conscious person in an adrenaline rush.

Some who were taken off life support had died while others just kept right on breathing.

The thing was, Yami couldn't figure out why these rumors were circulating now. Has another student gone missing? Had the first boy finally been found? Perhaps other students had begun to disappear again? Or perhaps they had fallen under the same strange sensation that Yami felt, as if somebody was watching him?

Yami finally closed out the whispers. The longer he listened to them, the more paranoid Yami became.

* * *

><p>Several times while Yami was at work that evening, he felt the overwhelming urge to turn around to figure out who was staring at him. That pins and needles sensation prickled at his back, and Yami felt unnaturally irritable because of it, and it showed.<p>

Yami smiled and greeted the customers just as he should, but those who knew him worried about the boy's edginess. He had even snapped a time or two when one of them asked if he was all right.

"Sorry." He would murmur, bowing his head a little to express his sincerity, and he'd walk away rubbing the skin at the back of his neck.

* * *

><p>A ripple between two worlds vibrated before it opened into a wide crevice. A whispering chant rode the sudden rapid winds:"Αφήστε τα παιχνίδια να αρχίσουν"<em> Let the games begin. <em>

* * *

><p>"Mister Sennen, why don't you head on home? You look very tired." Miss Kujaku suggested, not allowing herself to show the deep concern she felt as she had witnessed the young man's strange behavior, or that she was worried that Yami might be overexerting himself.<p>

It was only 8:21, but Yami agrees, thinking that he probably needed to get some sleep, and maybe then he could relax.

"Alright. Thank you." Yami replied before he flipped the switch on his cashier's station to signal it would be closing soon. He finished checking out the last three customers' groceries and then turned his light out completely. He tallied his sales, put the bag of money on Miss Kujaku's desk, and went to get his jacket out of his locker. After that, he headed out the back door to the employee parking lot.

He wrapped his arms around his chest and hunched forward as a fierce gust of wind all but blew him over. He started toward his Civic, but a sudden wave of anxiety overtook Yami, and he felt almost hunted beneath the amplified sensation of being closely scrutinized.

He jogged for his car, but about halfway, Yami felt as though he had stepped into a deep, soft puddle of mud, and he stumbled a few steps before stepping into a second gooey puddle that was in his path.

Even though it was too dark to see, Yami glanced down at the ground to figure out what was hindering him, and he paused in his tracks to stare in horror at the single gargantuan eye looking right back up at Yami.

He opened his mouth to cry out in terror, but his voice was stolen from him and all he could do was pant as if he were hyperventilating. Yami tried to run, but his feet had sunk in so deep that he had to work to make even a single step.

Thick, black, inky tendrils shot out toward Yami and coiled around each of the boy's legs. Yami struggled to get free, but even more tendrils came out to wrap around Yami's body; two slipped around both of his arms, one wrapped around the boy's waist, chest, and throat. He felt himself being dragged into the monstrous eye's obsidian iris. He struggled violently, but in vain, and soon it was already too late.

Yami was plunged into a vivid blackness, falling fast as though he had been dropped out of the sky. A sinister, cackling sound pierced the darkness, and then Yami dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"Have a good night, Miss Kujaku." A brunette employee called back as she stepped through the employee exit at 11:17. She had been laughing about something; her pretty, sky-blue eyes shining with mirth.<p>

And then she frowned at seeing Yami's silver Honda Civic still parked out in the lot. She saw Yami's ruby keychain that had the teen's house, car, and mailbox keys attached lying beside a black and green cell phone on the ground between the door and the boy's car.

"Hey, Miss Kujaku, didn't you send Yami home early?" The girl asked through the still opened door, and a moment later the blonde supervisor came to stand in the doorway.

"Yes." She confirmed as she took in the scene over the girl's shoulder. The woman tugged a cell phone out of her pocket and tossed it to the girl, "Anzu, call Yami's house and find out if they might know anything."

The girl, Anzu, nodded as she flipped the phone open and searched for Yami's home contact.

Mai went back inside to the security room and began reviewing the tapes from the parking lot.

What she saw disturbed her greatly.

She ran back to Anzu and held her hand out to take her phone back.

"Mister Sennen?"

* * *

><p>"What do you mean that my son has vanished, Miss Kujaku?" Akunamkanon demanded.<p>

"_I've reviewed the security footage, Mister Sennen. I know it doesn't make sense, but one moment he was there, and the next he was gone." _Mai Kujaku explained to the distraught father. _"If you'd like, you may come and look at the tape to see for yourself." _She offered.

"I'll do that, then. Thank you, Miss Kujaku." Akunamkanon hung up the phone.

"Daddy?" The man turned to find his youngest son standing in the archway that led to his sons' rooms. Yugi was rubbing his eye and his spiky hair was mussed from the few hours of sleep he had gotten. Akunamkanon supposed he might've been a little louder than necessary. "When will Yami be home?" Yugi asked.

Akunamkanon shook his head, "I don't know. Why don't you go on back to bed and I'm sure Yami will be here in the morning."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night, Yugi."

* * *

><p>Akunamkanon could hardly believe his eyes. He asked Miss Kujaku to rewind the tape once more.<p>

He saw Yami dash toward his car, stumble a little, and then he stood still as he stared at the ground. Yami jerked as if struck by some invisible force, obscure darkness enveloped the boy, and when it faded, Yami was gone, leaving behind his son's keys and cell phone which Akunamkanon held tightly in his hands.

_So it's true…he really has vanished._

"Thank you, Miss Kujaku." Akunamkanon said dully before turning to leave, determined to start looking for his missing son.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot and Greyshire, the Virtual Reality world. This story is loosely based off of the Sci-fi novels Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game by Orsen Scott Card. (Not really, but as I was outlining, I did see a few similarities between this story and those, so I don't want to be caught for alleged copyright if anyone else recognizes those situations. So, it's more of a "just in case" thing. **

**A/N: Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry for the long wait for me to update, but I was swamped with college work and was falling a bit behind, so I had to focus on that for a while. Now that I'm out of the deep end though I can get back to business and I'll begin updating in regular intervals again. Thank you for your patience, and as an added bonus and more of an apology, I will be updating each one of my stories at least once within the next few days. So, again, I'm sorry. Enjoy and review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four – Greyshire<strong>

As consciousness slowly began to return, Yami became aware of several things even before he had opened his eyes.

It was around noon; the sun shining brightly upon his closed eyelids was testament to this. He was lying on a lumpy, slightly damp ground somewhere outdoors, several short blades of grass brushed against Yami's bared arms, neck, and face, proclaiming that he was no longer in the parking lot of his work place. The last thing he realized was that it was abnormally hot for it being mid-autumn in Seattle. He was sweating rather profusely beneath his work uniform. Also, judging by the slight discomforting heat coming from within his body, he had the beginnings of sunburn, which said that he had been outside for around three to five hours, assuming that he had been dropped out here during the day.

Yami cracked his eyes open just a little, and then he hissed and slammed them shut, protecting them from the offensive brightness of the suns overhead.

…_Suns? _

Forcing his eyes open once more, blocking out most of the direct light with his arm, Yami was completely mystified at what he saw.

He didn't have an inkling of where he could be, but he knew for certain that this wasn't Earth. Earth didn't possess two large, yellow suns nor was Earth's sky painted a deep shade of magenta, unless it was during dawn and dusk. Slowly, Yami rose up on his elbows and scanned the surrounding area to some sort of relief.

Vast lengths of rolling meadows made of bright emerald stretched out far beyond Yami's length of vision. Towering oak, maple, and fruit-bearing trees dappled the landscape, as well as several large patches of multicolored flowers made from roses, dandelions, daisies, and tulip; giving Yami the illusion of being somewhere that somewhat resembled his home if he excluded the view of the awkward-colored sky.

Yami couldn't imagine how or why he could have come to this strange place. He might've thought this could've been a dream had it not been for the fact that his entire body felt like one large, thrumming bruise and the bump on the back of his head throbbing painfully without even being touched.

Yami's curiosity got the better of him, and he carefully got to his feet, leaning momentarily against the trunk of the nearest maple tree that he may or may not have head-butted when he fell to wherever this place was, trying to steady himself, before he set out toward the east.

He walked for what seemed like hours, but in reality was more likely to have been a half-hour to forty-five minutes, when he spotted a plume of chimney smoke floating up into the sky like a homing beacon.

His head ached, and it hurt to think, but he couldn't help but wonder why in the hell would anyone actually want to light a fire in their home when it felt to be around one hundred and twenty degrees outside. He also had a slight wonder of perhaps the smoke was meant to attract attention, something like a bug-zapper, where an unsuspecting stranger would be confused and wanting to know what was going on, and suddenly finding a form of life nearby.

Putting a hand to his head, he debated about what he should do.

What sort of creature would be living in a world like this? The thought about the childhood fairy tail of Hansel and Gretel came to mind, and Yami seriously wondered about his mental health at that point.

Before he could decide whether or not to approach the house or not, he saw the form of a human man striding along the lawn, heading in Yami's general direction.

He looked normal enough. He thought that the white hair was a bit off-putting considering that the man appeared to be in his early-to-mid thirties, but then again, Yami wasn't exactly the model example of appropriate hair, so he let that concern go. The man was tall, easily over six feet, pale tawny skin, his odd-colored hair pulled into a ponytail, and even then the ends stopped just between the man's shoulder blades. He wore a white, button down shirt and dark khaki slacks.

_He seems a little overdressed to be on a casual walk around his property._ Yami thought as he saw the man had noticed that he was standing there.

"Ah, you must be new in these parts!" The man called out in a medium tenor, slightly accented voice that Yami couldn't quite place. "Come closer, boy."

Again, Hansel and Gretel came to mind. If this man offered candy of any variety, Yami was out of here.

"Why should I? Who are you?" He called back across the fifty some-odd yards between them.

"I am Pegasus J. Crawford." He answered the second question first, "I assume you have many questions and concerns. I can help you."

"_Come in, come in," said the Spider to the Fly…okay, enough reading Yugi his bedtime stories. They're making you paranoid. _

But still, something seemed off about this stranger. He had a pleasant enough expression and held himself respectfully, but there was something in the man's eyes…even from the distance between Yami and this Pegasus fellow, Yami could swear he saw a particularly malicious glint in the man's eyes.

"What is this place?" Yami asked, not moving to close the distance between the two men. "How did I get here?"

"You are in a virtual reality world, Greyshire. You see, Mister Sennen, we've been expecting you for sometime now. We figured you would be the perfect addition to the game." Pegasus replied.

"What game? And how did I get here, you have yet to answer me that." Yami was starting to become extremely agitated.

"Well, the process might have been a bit startling, but we pulled you through between Earth and Greyshire. Have a nice trip, see you next fall, and all that." Pegasus obliged.

Suddenly Yami recalled the giant eye that opened up beneath him while walking to his car after work.

"As for the game, well, let's just say it's all just a bit of fun. You see, we've been watching for perspective players to add a bit more spice to our game. We're running a little short on new people to test our product…"

"And that's another thing, who is "we"?"

"Why, the game coordinators of course." Pegasus gave a loud series of chuckles that made Yami's skin crawl. He didn't know why, but this man was definitely bad news.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't the time to play your game, Mister Crawford. So, if you'd be so kind as to let me get back home, that'd be greatly appreciated." Yami all but snarled the order.

"Ah, but Yami-boy, this is not for you to decide." Pegasus said in a low, chilling voice. "You've been specifically selected and now you must play the game if you want to return home."

"And why wasn't I given a choice?"

"But you were given the choice, Mister Sennen. After all, weren't you desperate to get out of the same old routine you've been forced to live with since that harlot of a mother walked out on your father?"

"How the hell do you know so much about me?" Yami screamed, his frustration reaching its peak.

"You applied for the position of game tester about two years ago. When you began to wonder what life would be like if you hadn't had so much responsibility on your shoulders. You wanted to know what your life would've been like had you been able to act your age and be the child that you were neglected to be. Am I right?"

Yami felt like an elephant had been dropped onto his chest. This man hit far too close to home.

"Every evening, you come home to see your older brother lazing about, every day you pick your younger brother up from soccer practice, every time you have to rush to get to work on time, skipping out on meals, and staying up into the dead hours of the morning, juggling about your family duties, school, and work and the only reason you were pushed to such extremes was because of your selfish, whoring mother. Isn't it true that you wanted to have a chance to lay back and relax for an afternoon, without worries or crushing responsibilities weighing heavily on your conscience? Well, this is your ticket to freedom, Yami-boy."

Yami gritted his teeth as every word lanced through him like a hot knife. Yeah, he had wondered, but that was all, just wonderings. He knew that he had things that needed to be done, and that somebody had to do them.

"Yes, but-"

Pegasus held up a hand, index finger ticking back and forth as he shook his head, "Uh-uh, Mister Sennen, there are no buts in this life. You wanted to know what it might be like, and we answered you. Now, should you want to return home, all you have to do is win the game. Simple enough? After all, for an eighteen-year-old who can balance school, work, and family the way you do would have no problem getting through a game like this."

Yami crossed his arms over his chest and stared off to the left of where he was, looking over the landscape with far more disgust than wonder as he had before. This wasn't a dream any longer, it was a fucking nightmare.

Backed into a corner with no other alternatives, Yami sighed long-sufferingly and nodded, "Fine, I'll play along. But you must promise to let me go if I win."

"Why of course. I am a man of my word."

"Yeah? All I have is your word on that, Mister Crawford, so forgive me if I err more to caution in this." Yami replied, no longer bothering to hide his anger.

"Fair enough, now the object of this game is rather simple. You will be paired to a pre-existing team here in Greyshire. There are eight teams, each identifiable by their colors and the animal insignia on the breast pockets of your team uniforms."

"Uniforms? What's the matter with what I'm wearing?"

"Well, the temperatures here can reach all the way into the two hundreds and our uniforms are aerodynamically insulated so that a player is getting adequate coolness so that they don't dehydrate or anything more serious occurs. I suppose one could wear their natural clothes, if you prefer, but there are much more dangerous reasons for you to be recognized by your teams. See, some of the commanders of the teams can be rather hostile of opposing players…" Pegasus let the sentence dangle.

"All right, I can see your point." Yami snapped.

"Ah, aren't we grumpy today? Very well…you are to be assigned to the red team, also known as the Dragons. You will be given a uniform, a small laser pistol, and a sword that can be used at different points during the game. Your team will be assigned every so often to compete in a challenge against a separate team, and similar to a tournament, the more challenges your team wins the higher up on the scale your team goes. If by the end of the gaming period your team wins, the entire red team would be free to go back to Earth."

"Then you're saying that if the red team loses even once, then I have no chance of going home?"

"Not necessarily. There are ways of redeeming your team's status in the game."

"Such as?"

"Let's say the Red team loses against the yellow team in the fifth challenge, the red team could be redeemed if the red team wins a challenge against an undefeated team that is higher up on the scale. This can only happen twice. After the third loss, that's it, game over for the red team."

"All right, I'm sensing there's more to this game than you're letting on. Just how long is this "trial period"?"

"Well, the latest the game has lasted for about five months-"

"Hold it right there, Mister Crawford. I can't stay here for five months. I've got-"

"Ah yes, so many things to do. Well, there have been arrangements made so that you cannot be fired from your job nor can you be dropped from your high school while you are here in Greyshire. Not to mention time runs differently in Greyshire than it does on Earth. So five months here could possibly have only been two weeks up on Earth."

"And how exactly were these arrangements made, Mister Crawford?" Yami asked suspiciously.

"No need to worry yourself about that."

"And my family?"

"Oh, they'll be fine without you for a little while."

"That's not why I'm asking. My little brother and my father would be worried sick if they don't know where I am." Yami protested.

"They will be notified, so you've no need to worry over that. Instead of worrying yourself over all of these trivial concerns, Yami-boy, you might want to be more focused on winning the game as quickly as possible." Pegasus suggested.

Against his better judgment, Yami agreed that if he focused all his efforts on winning the game, then he could go home faster and get back to his normal life again…if Pegasus was to be believed. Still, there seemed to be something missing from this whole explanation. Yami couldn't quite grasp what was making him feel so nervous, but he sensed there was still something Pegasus was holding back.

"Now," Pegasus announced and Yami hadn't realized Pegasus had gotten so close until he turned and was eye-to-throat with the man. Yami took several steps back from the other man and he mentally slapped himself for slipping his guard, especially when he seriously didn't trust this man. Up close and able to see the man's face clearly, Yami could easily notify the odd glint that he knew would be there in Pegasus' dark brown eyes. Pegasus held out his hand and suddenly a thick manila folder appeared out of thin air and the man took it and offered it to Yami. "These are the rest of the instructions to the game, as well as maps of the area, the designated area for the dorms, the territory lines, and the information about your team.

"I will give you a little piece of advice though. Your commander, Seto Kaiba, is not the easiest man to please, and he is extremely temperamental to say the least. Keep on his good side, and you won't go wrong. Don't show any weakness with him around or else he will chew you up and spit you out. He's tough, but you can't go wrong if you put your faith in him."

Yami didn't know why, but he thought that he might actually believe these last few comments.

"Anyhow, off you go. The day's growing old and you must be exhausted from the transition." Pegasus nudged Yami off toward the north and said, "Follow this path straight through and don't divert from it, and you'll get to Red Dormitory."

Yami turned to ask him what would happen if he did walk off the path, only to find that Pegasus had all but vanished.

"What the hell is going on here?" Yami murmured, but started walking in the direction Pegasus had indicated.

After about a mile of walking straight, Yami could finally make out the silhouette of a long, wide building in the distance, about another seventy feet away. He saw the tall flagpole on the outside of the building was waving a scarlet flag, and Yami took a shot in the dark in assuming that this was the Red Dormitory.

Continuing on, another silhouette appeared in his vision, this one was a human male who stood tall and arrogant outside the building and a little off to the side. He was tall, probably about as tall as Pegasus had been, with a lean, but muscular frame, the wind blowing his chestnut hair and pulled gently at his white shirt with red trimming along the cuffs of his sleeves and waistband, and red colored pants. He was turned toward the west, and Yami followed the brunet's line of vision to five more people off in the distance, these ones wearing white with blue shirts and blue pants. Yami took a wild guess that they weren't on the red team, which may have triggered the intense look of hatred that he saw on the red-clad brunet's face.

Yami couldn't believe what happened next.

One moment the brunet stood straight, albeit rigidly, with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs braced apart, merely watching as the five blue teammates, who stood more defiantly, all looking rather smug, and the next moment, the blue teammates drew their guns, but didn't fire them, for the brunet had been quicker on the draw and had fired five times, each "laser" hitting either between their eyes or in their chests. They crumbled to the ground in heaps of twisted limbs and piled bodies, blood pooling beneath them.

Yami's eyes widened in realization, _They're dead…you…a player can die here…SHIT!_

As understanding dawned, Yami turned his attention back toward the brunet, only to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. This story is loosely based off of Orsen Scott Card's Sci-fi novels Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game. I do own Greyshire, a few OCs, and the uniforms, as well as the majority of the plot. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<br>**

Yami stood petrified as the brunet lunatic leveled the barrel of his laser pistol, directed straight at him. He couldn't speak, couldn't move, any advantages of reasoning with this man were inaccessible to him.

Finally, the brunet called out in a deep, rough baritone, "You'd best be part of the red team, boy." The threat was more than evident in his voice.

"Y-yes, I-I am." Yami managed to stutter out, and then he remembered what Pegasus had told him about the red team's captain.

Thankfully, the brunet lowered his gun, "Best get inside the barracks, maggot." Captain Seto Kaiba snapped in a tone that said it wasn't a request.

"Yes, sir." Yami replied quickly before sprinting toward the long, narrow barracks that appeared to be more like a barn than a dormitory.

Yami hadn't felt this nervous since his freshman year of high school. The Dragon's dormitory held over thirty people, both male and female, ranging between fifteen and twenty-three years of age, and every single one seemed more or less as intimidating as their captain. Kudos to them, though; at least these people didn't look like they were about to shoot his head off his shoulders.

"Look, more fresh meat." Yami caught a light, feminine drawl say antagonistically.

"He won't last long; look at him, he's so scrawny and pathetic that it's…well pathetic." A masculine tenor replied, and the comment sent a few others into a fit of mocking chuckling.

Yami ignored them as best that he could as he made his way to the empty bunk near the back of the barracks. In front of the bunk was a large 3x3x5 footlocker that had his name carved into the front. He loosened the two latches holding the lid close and lifted it to find three fully equipped uniforms that the Pegasus fellow had mentioned. They were all the same; a white short-sleeved shirt with the sleeves, lining, and hem colored a deep crimson color, slightly snug crimson pants that felt like a mixture of spandex and cotton, a pair of black and brown, thick sole, steel-toed combat boots, and even a crimson baseball cap with a silhouetted dragon emblazoned above the bill.

They did look like they would feel much more comfortable than his work uniform, and without caring whether the others were looking or not, Yami stripped off his deep blue polo shirt and pulled the uniform shirt on over his head. He felt the difference immediately, knowing that this allowed more air to pass through the fabric and cool him considerably better than his own clothes. As quickly as he had exchanged the shirts, Yami toed off his black, leather, work shoes and slid off the black slacks only to pull on the red pants provided. He slid on one of the pairs of boots and then, with his hair still in a ponytail, Yami threaded it through the back of the cap and settled the hat comfortably on his head. He tucked the majority of his blond bangs underneath the cap, and then he folded his work clothes and put them inside the footlocker and closed it up again.

"Looking sharp there, kid."

Yami turned his head to find a tall, well-built blond man, looking to be about twenty, standing right behind him. His face appeared slightly severe, what with the long, deep scar that lined the side of his face and the other that sliced across the left side of his upper and lower lips, but the smile on his face softened his expression, as did the warm glint in his frost-green eyes. Dressed in the same Red Dragon uniform, sans hat, he held out a hand to Yami, "The name's Matt. Matt Reynolds." He offered.

"Yami Sennen." He replied, relieved that somebody wasn't a complete ass here.

"Glad to meet 'cha. I know a thing or two around here, so you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Unlike these turds over here, I know that we stand a better chance of getting home if we band together. Not singling some new kid from the get-go."

"Thanks. Nice meeting you too."

A tall, teenaged girl about eighteen years old stepped out from behind Matt with a smile across her elfin features. She had burning scarlet hair and intense emerald eyes that flared with intelligence and promised a quick temper, "Yeah, some people don't quite remember how it is to be the new kid. I'm Anna."

Yami smiled at her.

"FALL OUT!"

The resounding baritone that rebounded off of the walls of the barracks, sending every recruit out the doors and spilling out onto the lawn in three single-file lines, startled Yami. Yami stuck close to Matt and Anna, since they seemed to know what they were doing.

Seto Kaiba stood at attention before the thirty-something Red Dragons with a fierce scowl on his face. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and tapered waist, but solidly built with thick, short chestnut hair and cold cerulean eyes that caused them all to shrink with inferiority. All except a choice few, Matt and Anna included, who looked almost amused at this show of dominance.

Seto paced slowly in front of the recruits, giving each man and woman a thorough, disapproving once-over before moving on to the next.

"As of today, for the next three months, you are nothing but dogs to obey my every command. If I move, you move. If I say shoot, I better start shooting. If I tell you to jump, you say, "how high". Put your pride aside and you just might survive this _game_." He practically snarled that last word. "I am your captain, I am the law here. Am I understood?"

There was a resounding shout of acknowledgment.

All except for one, "Who the hell does he think he is?" A condescending female voice said in a stage whisper.

Yami heard Matt beside him say, "Ooh, you done it now, chica."

Seto homed in on the prissy little twit who had spoken out of turn in a split second. Standing at his full height of 6' 3'', he stared down at the blonde haired, hazel eye priss, who met his stare with slight hesitancy.

"Care to repeat yourself, maggot?" Seto crooned in a deceitfully calm tone of voice.

"I said, who the hell do you-" She never got to finish that comment.

Seto pulled his gun and shot the girl in the knee. She crashed to the ground, screaming in agony in between nasty curses.

"This is not a game, people. This is war. You want to stay alive? Learn to keep your fucking mouths shut!" Seto snarled at the rest of the assembly as he ground the sole of his boot into the gunshot wound in the girl's leg, "You will not be permitted to speak against my authority. If _this_," He stomped on the wound, eliciting another scream from the girl, "And I will kill you myself."

He released the girl and left her strewn across the lawn in a heap of whining, stupid female.

"Anyone _else_ wish to say a few words?" Seto entreated, cocking the hammer on his gun for emphasis. When nobody said a word, scarcely even attempted to even breathe, Seto grunted in satisfaction, "That's what I thought."

They all took a deep breath in relief before Seto gestured toward Anna, "Get this filth out of my sight."

Anna stepped forward and all but threw the sobbing girl over her shoulder and carried her away from the barracks.

"Our first tournament is set for day after tomorrow. Therefore, we've got less than forty-eight hours to prepare." Seto announced before he turned on his heel, "Come with me."

* * *

><p>Yami was certain that he was going to die.<p>

Seto Kaiba stood as judge and executioner on the sidelines of the training field in the universal recreation facility about a mile out from the Red Dragon barracks. With his hands clasped behind his back, he watched his recruits like a hawk, cataloguing every strength, weakness, and casualty that was offered.

Yami was soaked to the bone with sweat as he held on to the thick metal bar above his head as he struggled to pull himself up for the sixtieth time. He was an ace in basketball and football, but his upper body strength was shit on his best day.

"Come on, Yami. Push a little harder." Matt encouraged, gently yet firmly.

Turns out, Matt was Seto's second-in-command and has been in Greyshire for three years. Seto's been here for five.

"Is there a problem, Sennen?" Seto Kaiba shouted from beneath where Yami and Matt were.

"No sir." Yami replied.

"Well then, I suggest you keep going." He turned away to address the rest of the recruits; "Greyshire's gravity is 20% heavier than Earth's, so you're all going to have to push yourselves harder in order to better yourselves. This _game_ consists on who can push past the natural barriers of this world. If you don't, you're dead. There are seasoned veterans who excel far beyond the gravity issue, and they won't hesitate to pick off one of you newbie maggots either. So Sennen," He turned back to look up at Yami, "You going to give me another forty pull-ups, or should I just shoot you now?" Seto asked coldly as his right hand hovered over his pistol holstered near his hip.

"I can do it, sir." Yami replied, biting his kip to keep from unleashing his temper due to the massive dent in his ego.

"Good, now prove it."

Yami did. He lifted his weight up again, and again, ignoring the fierce burning in his arms as he continued on. He would win this game and get back home to where he belongs.

"Keep it up, Yami." Anna cheered from her place on the three hundred feet high rope suspended from the high-domed ceiling.

Matt just smiled at the kid as he lifted himself up on his own pull-up bar for the hundredth and thirteenth time, his arm muscles bulging in protest against all further movement, and yet Matt ignored it as pulled himself up once more.

Yami was dead tired as he finally completed one hundred pull-ups, "There. Done." He gasped as he tried to catch his breath. He then glanced down toward his captain and blanched slightly, "Now how am I supposed to get down from here?"

Matt just laughed at him.

* * *

><p>"Ever heard of the expression, "Five Ds of Dodge Ball"? Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge?" Matt questioned as he and Anna and Yami stood back-to-back-to-back in a small corner of the wide, disorienting labyrinth the Seto Kaiba had dumped them in, claiming that it was time for some gun training.<p>

"Vaguely, yes." Yami replied, grinning slightly at Matt's reference to one of his favorite movies.

"Well, that also applies to this. If someone comes at you, shoot them before they shoot you. They get off a shot first, you'd best start dancing like there's no tomorrow, 'cause you can't get shot here, or else it is game over." Matt warned, in his own quirky way that Yami was fast getting used to, and rather fond of.

"So Yami, do you dance?" Anna inquired.

"I've done Swing Dancing before."

"That'll do. Just remember the Table Top and the Pretzel, and you'll be fine." Anna encouraged.

"Here they come." Matt warned, and then took aim and fired.

He shot the young man who was rushing around the corner in front of them square in the shoulder. Not enough to kill him, but that'll sting like a frigid bitch.

"Scatter." Matt ordered, and the three rushed in their separate directions.

Yami encountered three sixteen-year-olds and he fired off five consecutive shots, each tagging the recruits in non-lethal but crippling places on their bodies. One happened to be the guy who had accused him of, "Not going to last long". On his way past them, he snapped, "Who's the scrawny one now, bitch?"

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Mr. Sennen. We're doing everything that we can, but there isn't any solid evidence that might lead us to find your son." A young male police officer tried to reason with a particularly distraught Akunumkanon.<p>

"Then you're not looking hard enough!" He shouted.

Akunumkanon looked a fright, his usually neat beard shaggy and uneven, his cool violet eyes were bloodshot, and his skin was slightly sallow from lack of sleep.

"Papa?" Yugi's small, crackling tone broke Akunumkanon's focus on wringing the unhelpful officer's neck and he swung his gaze around to find Yugi looking just as tired and miserable as his father, his amethyst eyes swimming with tears. "I want Yami to come home now." He half demanded before he broke down into hysterical sobbing.

"Come here, son." Akunumkanon coaxed, and Yugi rushed into his father's arm to bury his face against his shoulder and cried his little eyes out.

"It'll be all right. Yami will be home safe and sound real soon." Akunumkanon tried to sooth his son with the same litany of lies he kept repeating to himself.

"-Kanon!" Akunumkanon turned toward the sound of his name to find Mai rushing toward them, "We found him."

Akunumkanon's eyes widened in shock and relief before he set Yugi down, "Go on inside, Yugi. Yami will be home shortly."

Once Yugi obeyed, Akunumkanon raced down the driveway, "Where?"

"Near the river."

* * *

><p>Paramedics and police officers crowded in the vicinity of the river as Mai and Akunumkanon sprinted out of the surrounding bushes to see the still figure near the river's edge. Akunumkanon rushed to his son, pushing the authority figures in his way aside to reach Yami.<p>

Yami was soaking wet, his work uniform torn and his body bruised and bleeding. It looked as though some gang had beaten him and then dropped him out here to die. Miraculously, Yami was still breathing, although his pulse was a bit slow it was normal for someone unconscious. His right arm was fractured and his right leg broken from the knee down in two places. Blood strained the front of his work polo near his abdomen.

Although he looked like he had been forced through a wood chipper, Yami was alive and that was all that mattered to Akunumkanon.

"Mr. Sennen, let us take him." A female, middle-aged paramedic implored as he reached for the wounded teenager.

Reluctantly, Akunumkanon let go of his son and stood back next to Mai as they laid Yami out on the stretcher and loaded him into the back of an ambulance.

"You coming?" The woman paramedic asked, and Akunumkanon nodded. Mai tried to follow, but a male paramedic tried to stop her.

"No, she's family." Akunumkanon said, and they let her go and she climbed into the back of the ambulance, taking Akunumkanon's hand as he stared helplessly at his unconscious son while the paramedics placed an oxygen mask over the boy's nose and mouth.

"He'll pull through. Yami's a strong kid." Mai soothed.

"I know, I just feel like I failed him somehow."

Mai shook her head, "That's not true and you know it. This was an unfortunate incident, but this is, and never will be, your fault." She replied.

Akunumkanon smiled wanly at the woman before they both lapsed into silence as they continued to watch the paramedics work on Yami.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own a couple of OCs and Greyshire. This story is loosely based off of Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow by Orsen Scott Card. **

**A/N:…I am sooo sorry for keeping you all waiting so long for me to update, but as you all know, reality has a way of throwing one off their games. Mine is particularly stressful, what with work and such. Anyhow, please enjoy this new chapter, and I hopefully will try to be more frequent in my updating in the near future. So many ideas, so little time in a day to get them all straightened out. Love you all for being patient with me. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<br>**

Akunumkanon sat in the corridor outside his son's operating room, waiting for a diagnosis on what had happened. The sight of the bruised and battered form of his boy, lying precariously in the slow moving creek, looking so pale and still would continue to haunt him for the rest of his days. As a father, Akunumkanon was supposed to protect his children, and he had failed miserably with Yami. Yami had been cast underfoot, providing support, love, and substantial responsibility that should have never had to be burdened with at such a young age. He couldn't bring himself to even imagine how much pain Yami had been suffering. Akunumkanon hardly dared to contemplate when it had been when the light had faded from his son's eyes, afraid to wonder when it had been when Yami had been stripped of his own childhood and thrust headlong into the world of an adult who was far older than his son's eighteen years.

A hand settled over his and he looked up into lavender eyes, soft with concern and pity. Miss Kujaku was still there; Akunumkanon had assumed she had left long ago.

"He'll be all right, Mr. Sennen. He is a strong kid, he'll pull through." Mai tried to reassure, but it did little to lift his spirit. He was a disaster of a father, and he may have had to lose one son before he realized how badly he had screwed up.

Akunumkanon's head jerked around at the sound of the door to his son's room open and he stood as the doctor approached. At least he didn't remove his cap; that at least gave him some hope.

"How is he?" He demanded.

"Young Mr. Sennen has suffered a few abrasions and contusions, particularly on the right side of his body. He has a minor hematoma on the back of his head behind his right ear. Physically, he should be fit in a week or so. However, Mr. Sennen, your son has fallen into a coma."

Akunumkanon's heart leapt into his throat, threatening to choke him, before plummeting down into his stomach.

_A coma?_ _By Ra, I have failed miserably as a father._

"It is uncertain whether or not he will rise out of the coma. We have seen many other cases like your son's where the body is unresponsive but the brain activity is staggering considering their state of unconsciousness. Those who had survived, the majority were not mentally stable. Many developed psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, psychopathia, and sociopathic personality disorder. Other survivors became brain dead, suffered from strokes and heart attacks, became delusional and act paranoid, and some even become hardened criminals. For the moment, we should wait to see whether he can rise out of the coma, however, if you believe it to be more merciful, we can take him off of life support and let him find peace."

"No! Don't you dare even think about it! My son will survive." Akunumkanon snapped. Listening to the doctor's accounts of the previous victims of whatever was plaguing his son chilled him to the bone, but he mow burned with righteous indignation at the mere thought of pulling the plug on his boy. "Yami is strong enough to overcome this."

"Very well, you may go in and see him." The doctor offered.

"Thank you." With that clipped comment, Akunumkanon pushed passed the doctor and stepped through the door to the room where his son rested, tubes, wires, and needles attached to machines that whirred and beeped, while Yami battled furiously for life.

Akunumkanon studied his son's prone figure laid out on the hospital bed, his expression solemn yet peaceful as though he were merely in a deep slumber, heard the EKG keeping count of Yami's artificial heartbeats, and the guilt crested once again in devastating waves over the older man. He rushed to Yami's bedside and collapsed to his knees, sobbing onto his son's chest."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." He breathed over and over until his voice turned hoarse.

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><p>Yami slung himself down across his bed, groaning with pain and pleasure as his muscles finally began to relax after the grueling first day of training. Captain Kaiba had worked them all to the breaking point, driving them to the very edge of their limits and then pressing harder for them to do better until the twin suns sank beneath the distant mountains to the west.<p>

Yami was incredibly sore. He swore that even the tips of his hair hurt, and he could hardly believe that he had actually survived the horrible training regime that he was certain would be waiting for them to repeat in the morning. At present, Yami wanted nothing more than to simply sink into a deep sleep and never wake again.

Just as Yami felt himself begin to teeter between the boundary of wakefulness and slumber, a pair of rough hands grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and wrenched him bodily off of the mattress. He let out a startled cry as he was promptly set upon his feet a moment later, staring wide-eyed at the grinning face of Matt Reynolds.

"Not the best time to be going to sleep, kid. You need to shower and get some grub in your belly first or else tomorrow you'll wake up and be tangled up in knots worse than you could possibly imagine. You think you feel terrible now?" He let the sentence dangle, chuckling lightly while Yami glared at the irritating older man.

"Seriously though, you must learn the proper way of cooling yourself out after a workout like you experienced today. Just like animals, they must be properly groomed after a hard day or else it will jeopardize their health, and you won't live long in this world if you can barely move from being so sore. Off you go. The locker rooms are down the hall, third door on the right. There are towels and soap already there for you to use, then dinner will be served in the mess hall." Matt cautioned seriously.

Yami figured he should listen to the older man's advice. He crouched in front of his steamer trunk and opened the lid, riffling through the contents within until he pulled out a pair of fresh, blue, plaid boxer shorts and closed the lid back down, clicking the lock back into place. He followed Matt in the direction he had indicated and found the locker rooms. It was a spacious, sterile, white tile room, a wall dividing the men's side from the women's. Yami followed the direction toward the men's showers and found several, single-spaced cubicles, three out of the eight were occupied, tan shower curtains drawn and water splashing.

As Yami turned on the water and felt the strong, hot jet of water stream across his sore muscles, he sighed in bliss. This had been an excellent idea. Once he finished with his shower and slipped on his boxers, he wrapped a towel around his hips and returned to the outside corridor, where he found Matt and Anna leaning against the wall near the door, both looking clean, damp, and refreshed.

The hot supper of hearty beef stew, baked potato, and mixed vegetables really made Yami feel so much better. When he finished eating and fell back into his bed, the exhausted young man was out like a light from the moment his head touched his pillow.

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><p>Sirens blared within the confines of the Dragon's dormitory, jolting Yami out of his slumber with a start. With his hand resting over his galloping heart, he struggled through the haze of his sleep-addled mind to understand what was happening. At first, he thought this was Captain Kaiba's method of waking everyone up to start a new day of training, however as he looked on, watching as the recruits scrambled and shuffled around like bees communicating, the alarming grunts, screams, and agonized cries informing Yami that this was something entirely different.<p>

He watched as he saw male and female Dragon recruits, all in various states of dress, stumbled around one another, chaotically trying to make their way toward the exit of the dormitories. There were strangers moving swiftly into the fray, sounds of metal clashing, flesh and bone splitting and breaking under the assault of flailing swords, fists and feet lashing out, making solid impact against the stomachs, crotches, and shoulders of the panicking soldiers.

Yami was grabbed by his shoulders, hauled out of his bunk, and made to crouch behind the bunk bed frame, bewildered and more than a little frightened as blood, bone, flesh, and sinew began splattering the walls, floors, and furniture.

"Use the beds as cover and make your way out toward the mess hall. There is an emergency exit there. Take as many as you can with you and make your escape."

Yami wasn't given time to agree or disagree, as a laser pistol was pressed into his palm and then he was shoved under the neighboring bunk, given a swift kick in the thigh, an obvious command to get a move-on.

He army-crawled along the floor of the dormitories, trying not to look around too much as he moved toward the hallway in the back of the dorm. He grabbed the attention of any straggling Dragon recruits and motioned for them to follow. When they reached the hall, each one got to their feet and rushed for the exit. The sounds of combat continuing on behind them, the only choice they had was to get themselves outside. Although this tactic went against everything Yami ever stood for, he was too stunned to think coherently. Not after the order to get out was given directly from Seto Kaiba himself.

There was a surprisingly large cluster of Dragon recruits gathered outside the dormitories, nearly sixty-five young men and women, all escaped the fiasco that was taking place within their temporary home.

While Yami looked on, more recruits came trickling out of the building.

The noise began to die down, until only the pre-dawn breeze could be heard whistling through the tree branches nearby. Light began to filter across the plain, brightening up the magenta-colored sky, causing it to appear a ghastly scarlet color, an ominous and morbid indication of the maelstrom that had happened within the walls of the Dragon dormitories.

Soon, Seto Kaiba and six other Dragons came out, each looking as though they had met the business end of a meat grinder, among them was Matt, being supported partially by Anna, who had a large gash across the top of her shoulder. Matt looked awful, the left side of his face bloody from one of his scars reopening, and a long, deep gash was cut into the length of his right arm, from biceps to mid-forearm, limping slightly and favoring his left leg.

Seto Kaiba looked like some twisted version of an avenging specter, his Dragon uniform splattered in large splotches of blood, both his own and from their enemies. He held his sword, which was bathed in gore, his brunet hair disheveled and sticky. His piercing cerulean eyes were aflame, his rage rising off of him in waves as he drew closer to the group of young Dragon recruits.

He scanned the crowd, taking an account for how many were lost in the ambush.

Finally, as the first of the twin suns peeked out at the Greyshire landscape, the captain spoke, his voice low and tremulous with his anger.

"Now do you understand the gravity of how this _game_ is played? This morning, we were attacked in our beds by the Rat army and lost twenty-nine young ones." He paced the lawn in front of the survivors. A barely susceptible limp hindered his fluid strides as he growled, "As of this moment, Greyshire is never to be considered a "game". Tomorrow, we shall take our revenge against the god-forsaken bastards who had ambushed us. For now, we will have to dispose of the dead. Those who have been wounded, report to the infirmary. The rest of you, once you have finished clearing out the dormitory, shower and report back here for training. We no longer have the luxury to "take it easy" when there are wolves circling all around us. Dismissed!" He barked, before turning on his heel and headed back for the dormitories.

Yami stood, staring helplessly after the captain as he took in this new information. _Ambushed…twenty-nine murdered…war…_

Suddenly ill, Yami collapsed to the ground and vomited up the beef stew from the night before.

No…no longer could this be considered a game…this Greyshire was for real, and every new day brought the possibility of death.

Now more than ever before, Yami began to wonder how he had ever believed his life back on Earth had ever been so terrible compared to the travesty Yami had been forced to take part in because of idle contemplations.

_Be careful what you wish for…you just might get a little more than what you bargained for. _


End file.
